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A common misnomer is that banks are simply a means of depositing funds and providing loans when needed. This could not be further from the truth. A solid business banking relationship is a strategic partnership with a bank that provides solutions which foster financial well-being in today’s complex fiscal world.
Treasury management services – often synonymous with cash management services – are simply a suite of products and services offered by banks to assist businesses in effectively managing their funds. Companies of all sizes can benefit by utilizing treasury services to better navigate the four financial pillars:
“We help businesses collect payments, so we help them on the receivable side. We offer solutions that help them get paid faster,” says Traci Smith, Senior Vice President and Director of Treasury Sales and Strategic Partnerships at Cogent Bank. “We help them control their payables so they can determine their cash position on a daily basis, as they’re making payments.”
It also means helping companies use these funds wisely, such as paying down a line of credit or investing the money so they can earn interest. It’s a type of information control used to manage their funds. “It means helping a business use their cash in the best way possible every day,” Smith says.
Often, larger companies have employees with financial expertise whose role is to streamline collections and manage cash flow. A big part of that equation includes understanding the benefits of treasury management and connectivity with their bank.
Small business owners may struggle with this because they must wear multiple hats and must also focus on other areas. They might not have an accounting department, and the owner/s don’t have time to research and implement a treasury management system —even though it would improve efficiency and reduce the amount of time they spend managing their accounts.
Connectivity: Because most companies already use online banking, they can link their accounting software systems to their bank’s systems. For example, if a business is using QuickBooks, they can connect with their bank, enabling them to know their true cash position, including which items have cleared and which are still outstanding.
A company might have the solutions they need right at their fingertips, but they are simply not aware of what their accounting software is capable of. Business owners may need to contact their accounting software provider to learn how to create something like an ACH file, a positive pay file, or how their accounting system can ingest data from their bank.
A recent trend in banking is “open banking,” a process in which the bank pushes data into a customer’s accounting system so they can see their balances and status of transactions made.
Banks like Cogent are developing the ability to do this with more enterprise resource planning platforms (ERPs). Once this is set up, a customer doesn’t have to go to the bank’s portal to see where they stand financially.
Improve Cash Flow: The old-fashioned way of managing cash flow included writing a check, waiting for it to clear the account, and keeping track of balances by manually entering this information into the company’s accounting software. Now fast forward to the age of electronic payments. Businesses can access their account activity instantly, which is a game changer in managing their funds.
Sending payments via ACH or BillPay allows businesses to schedule payments ahead of time and know exactly when the funds will come out of the account, versus writing checks, which will clear the account on an unknown date. It is also a significant time-saver – paying bills becomes a much easier and less frequent task to tackle.
Improve Financial Security: Treasury Management is not just about efficiency, it’s also about security. A simple way to reduce check fraud is by implementing electronic payments. Every time a business issues a paper check, they are sharing their account number and bank routing number which could compromise their account. With ACH, payments go directly from the company’s account to the payee’s account without any paper involved.
Unfortunately, fraud will always be a risk no matter what type of payment systems a business uses. Check fraud is often harder to detect since often the fraudster may only alter the payee’s name, thus not alerting the business until the item is viewed after clearing the account. Products such as Check and ACH Positive Pay match a payment file with actual items clearing the account to reduce the risk of fraud.
“I think the biggest thing I would say is don’t trust an email, always pick up the phone and call your customer, call your vendor, or your employee,” Smith says. “Have a system for verifying any changes (other than an email) that are happening on an account within your system. It’s really important for the bank to make sure that we’re helping our customers protect their accounts as much as possible.”
By partnering with a bank like Cogent for your treasury management systems, we can help you monitor your accounts and set up your internal procedures to protect your business.
Cost Savings: By using electronic payments, businesses save on the cost of checks, paper stock, ink, and postage. It also eliminates the hassle of signing checks and allows the added benefit of providing payroll directly deposited to employee accounts.
For larger companies, the benefits of treasury management are easier to quantify because their balance sheet, profit, and losses are available at their fingertips or within their data systems. Smaller businesses may take pause in quantifying these benefits but should consider the overall picture in how streamlining payment and accounting methods will save money in the long run.
“With small businesses, I point out to them that time is money,” Smith says. “If you’re manually reconciling your accounts every month and you’re the owner of the company, why not let us help you? Let us help you with a file feed or something that might cost you a little bit of money but will save you a significant amount of time.”
Competitive Edge: It is prudent to consider what the competition is doing regarding treasury services. Real-time payments and information are becoming more commonplace. As the saying goes, knowledge is power – the ability to have immediate information allows companies to quickly pivot when needed and make informed timely decisions.
At Cogent Bank, we also specialize in serving Community Associations (HOAs and Condo Associations), and the Property Management companies that manage multiple community associations.
Cogent offers direct integration with property management company software providers which has completely changed the way they do banking. They no longer must log on to the bank’s website and can stay within their own platform. The information that Cogent sends to them is multi-purpose, reaching all the way down to the homeowner portal of their application. This is a significant timesaver for management companies. They are fielding less phone calls from homeowners, as they have firsthand access to information regarding their dues and assessments, and payment options available to them.
“That’s probably been one of our biggest changes recently, the direct integration with software companies,” Smith says. “We’re hoping it becomes more streamlined, simplified, and standardized, but that’s been the biggest change that we’ve done as a bank, to work really hard with this kind of integration.”
The first step is to meet with your banker to learn about the available options. It is wise to include the owner and/or person in charge of the day-to-day finances in the meeting. Sometimes, the owner wears both hats. Don’t be afraid to ask questions as not all banks are the same. What kind of support does the bank offer on a day-to-day basis? What is the cost of services and is there a way to offset them with bank balances?
At Cogent Bank, we seek first to learn about your company, current banking services, A/R and A/P processes, software used, and other key information needed. We then get to work to create a customized plan with recommendations to improve areas needed and replicate those that are working. Our goal is to become your banking partner in the true sense of the word. We want to understand your company’s industry and overall financial needs to provide the type of consultative relationship your company deserves.
Once you make the decision to move forward, we team up with your relationship manager to assist you in implementing the services. We provide a dedicated email address and phone line to our Treasury Services support team to help you with any treasury questions on an ongoing basis.
At Cogent Bank, many of our treasury management customers are midsized companies and others are sole proprietorships. Typically, businesses with revenues closing in on $1 million or greater in annual revenue are a good fit for treasury services. That is not to say that smaller businesses can’t benefit from some treasury services and grow into others. It is certainly worth the time to learn what is available as you put your financial plan in place.
Cogent’s team of experienced professionals can help your business with streamlining Collections and Treasury Services. Cogent Bank is headquartered in Florida with locations throughout the state to serve you. Reach out today to discover how we can partner with you in moving your business forward.